[Gallery Walk] Accumulating Positive Energy Through Color as a Meditative Practice

The Color of the Day:
Myungwook Heo's Meditative Layers
Capturing Time and Emotion Through Lacquer

Huh Myungwook Solo Exhibition 'Chil칠hada (OVERLAYNG)' Exhibition View [Photo by Gana Art Center]

[Asia Economy, reporter Park Byunghee] Every morning, artist Myungwook Heo (54) begins his day by creating colors. He mixes various dyes with natural lacquer, a material derived from nature, to produce colors. He refers to these as "the color of the day."

"For me, the color of the day represents that day's energy and emotion. When I am not feeling well, I do not create the color of the day and instead work on something else." In this way, the color of the day becomes a hue imbued with his positive energy.

Myungwook Heo's works, which appear abstract, are completed by layering the color of the day dozens of times. He explains, "It is a process of continually accumulating good energy."

Gana Art Center in Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, is hosting Myungwook Heo's solo exhibition, 'ChilChikhada (OVERLAYNG),' until June 28. Heo works in a variety of fields, including painting, sculpture, and applied arts, all based on ottchil (lacquer). The exhibition features 25 of his two-dimensional works and 2 sculptures.

In the exhibition hall, visitors can see Heo's works featuring bands of color created with the color of the day on steel plates. The process involves applying ottchil to the steel, firing it multiple times in an oven, and then repeatedly painting and drying it over a long period. Each band of color is meticulously labeled with the date. He explained, "Because a different color emerges each day, I began recording the dates."

Works in which canvas fabric is layered and stacked feel so solid that it is hard to believe they are made of cloth. "Lacquer is also used as an adhesive when joining ceramics. That is how strong its bonding power is. Once it hardens, it becomes rigid. When used as a paint, it gradually forms a coating."

Artist Myungwook Heo
Photo by Gana Art Center

Lacquer is a material that is difficult to dry. Myungwook Heo shared that there are days when he cannot create the color of the day because the color applied the previous day has not dried sufficiently. Even so, he continues to layer colors each day, almost as a daily ritual, until he is satisfied with the result.

"Lacquer, as a material, contains time within itself. No matter how much you insist on layering just one color, as time passes, it inevitably returns to its original hue. While craftsmen often consider the fact that lacquer changes to uneven colors over time a drawback, I believe the greatest charm of lacquer lies in how each color transforms back into its own unique shade."

Upon entering the second floor of the exhibition, visitors are drawn to a video about ten minutes in length. The footage captures Myungwook Heo working in his studio in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, offering a glimpse into his meditative working process. He works against the backdrop of a large window in his studio, with the natural landscape outside contrasting with Heo's focused activity. Outside the window, flowers bloom and wither, leaves fall, and snow accumulates.

Yet, Heo's posture, which dominates the video, remains unchanged. Regardless of the changing seasons, he concentrates on capturing the passage of time within his works. "The common thread in all my work is the accumulation of time and the color of the day, which contains that day's emotions and energy."

Huh Myungwook Solo Exhibition 'ChilChikhada (OVERLAYNG)' Exhibition View
Photo by Gana Art Center

Huh Myungwook Solo Exhibition 'ChilChikhada (OVERLAYNG)' Exhibition View [Photo by Gana Art Center]